Origins and Radicals of Japanese Kanji

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The kanji 径往律彼得復徒-ぎょうにんべん(2)

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In the last post, we revisited some gyoninben kanji that had been discussed before with a focus on a component other than gyoninben. In this post we are going to look at several more kanji that we have not discussed yet – 径往律彼得復徒.

The kanji 径 “narrow bath; pathway”

For the kanji 径, the left side of the ten style, in red, was a “crossroad.” The right side depicted a loom which had warps (three wavy lines) that were held with a horizontal bar at the bottom, signifying “lines that go straight,” together with the sound /ke’e/. Going straight on foot along a narrow path meant “narrow path; pathway.” In the kyujitai, in blue, the wavy lines reflected warp that would get straightened on a loom. In shinjitai the right side became the kanji 又and 土, which is also seen in the kanji 経.

There is no kun-yomi in Joyo-kanji. Sometimes it is used in 小径 (“a little pathway” /komichi/) in a literary style. The on-yomi /ke’e/ is in 直径 (“diameter” /chok’kee/) and 口径 (“caliber; aperture” /kookee/).

往 “to go; past”

The kanji 往 appears to be a combination of a gyoninben and 主 “main.” But its history tells us that it had nothing to do with 主, as shown on the left. In oracle bone style, in brown, the top was a footprint, and the bottom was a king, which was signified by a large ornamental axe. In the last post we happened to see two actual samples of oracle bone style for 王 in our discussion of the kanji 従 (shown in the photo in the last post). “A king advancing” meant “to advance.” In ten style a crossroad “to go” was added. The kanji 往 means “to go” or “something that has gone; past.” In kanji the footprint became a small dot, resulting in the same shape as the kanji 主.

There is no kun-yomi in Joyo kanji. The on-yomi /o’o/ is in 往復 (“return trip; going and coming back” /oohuku/), 往来 (“traffic; street” /oorai/), 往年 (“years gone by; the past” /oonee/) and 往々にして (”more often than not; frequently” /oooonishite/).

The kanji 主 – In contrast with the origin of the right side of 往, the history of the kanji 主 is shown on the right. In bronze ware, in green, it was a flame of a lamp only. In ten style, it was a whole image of a long-stem oil lamp holder with a burning oil wick at the top. Fire was important and symbolized the master of a house. The kanji 主 meant “master; primary.” By adding a ninben to this origin, we get the kanji 住 “to reside.”

律 “law; impartially; rules that one follows”

For the kanji 律in oracle bone style, the left side was a crossroad, signifying “a way to go” or “to conduct oneself.” The right side was a hand holding a writing brush straight up. It also had the sound /ri’tsu/. Together they signified “to proclaim law.” Law is something that applies to everyone impartially. So it also means “evenly; impartially.” In ten style the right side took the shape that was closer to the current shape 聿, which is called hudezukuri as a bushu. The kanji 律means “law; impartially; rules that one follows.”

There is no kun-yomi. The on-yomi /ri’tsu/ is in 一律に (“impartially” /ichiritsuni/), 法律 (“law” /hooritsu/), 律する (to judge; govern” /rissuru/) and 規律正しく (“in an orderly manner” /kiritsutada’shiku/). Another on-yomi /ri’chi/ is a go-on and is in 律義に (“sincerely; faithfully” /ri’chigini/).

聿 as a bushu in the traditional kanji classification — There are not many kanji that belong to it. The more frequently used kanji are classified in other bushu. For instance the kanji 律 belongs to the gyoninben group, and the kanji 筆 belongs to the bushu takekanmuri group.

The kanji 筆 is shown on the right side. The oracle bone style was identical to the right side of 律. In bronze ware style, the left one was a straight line for brush handle only whereas the right sample showed brush’s hair at the bottom as well as a handle. In ten style, a bamboo radical, a bushu takekanmuri, was added at the top to signify a writing brush, from the fact that a writing brush had a bamboo handle. By adding the bamboo the kanji 筆means “a writing brush” rather than an act of writing.

彼 “he; she; over there”

The kanji 彼 is a borrowed kanji called 仮借 /kashaku/. Kashaku is one of the six ways of classification 六書 /ri’kusho/ in the Setsumon Kaiji. Kashaku writing means that a writing shape was borrowed to mean something totally unrelated in meaning and sound. In 彼, it was borrowed to be used as a pronoun for “he; she” and “over there.” Generally speaking a pronoun was a borrowed writing, including 我 “I,” 他 “other,” and 是 “this; pointing something close to the speaker.” In ten style a crossroad was added on the left. The kanji 彼 indicated a direction away from the speaker and listener.

The kun-yomi 彼 /ka’re/ means “he,” and 彼女 /ka’nojo/ mean “she.” The on-yomi /hi/ is in 彼岸 /higan/. Higan literally means “the other shore,” which came from “the realm of Buddhist enlightenment.” In the Japanese calendar there are two 彼岸 (usuallyお彼岸 /ohigan/) — they are a spring equinox day and an autumnal equinox day. Each is a national holiday. On ohigan time people pay a visit to a family cemetery to place flowers and the favorite food of the deceased. (On the other hand, お盆 /obo’n/ in mid-August is the time when the spirit of the dead comes home.)

The kanji 皮 – The kanji 彼 was a borrowed kanji, but when the right side, 皮, is used by itself it is used in the original meaning. The history of 皮 is shown on the right. In bronze ware style the top was an animal head. The bottom right was a hand. (We can see that the bronze ware style writing of 彼 came from 皮). It depicted a scene in which an animal was being skinned by hand. The kanji 皮 meant “skin” or “surface skin” and when it is used as a component it usually carries the sound /hi/ or /ha/, as seen in the kanji 波, 破.

The kanji 得 “to gain; make a profit”

For the kanji 得 in oracle bone style, (a) was a combination of a cowry, signifying money or valuables, and a hand at the bottom. (b) had a crossroad added. They meant “to obtain something valuable in one’s hand” and “going out to make a gain.” In bronze ware style, in (c) and (d), the three components were the same as (b). Ten style, (e), had the shape 寸 for a hand. From “going out to gain something valuable in one’s hand,” it meant “to gain; make a profit.” In kanji (f), the cowry became 日 “the sun” that had a line underneath.

The kanji復 “to repeat; return way; again”

For the kanji 復, in bronze ware style a middle cylindrical shape had a small shape at both ends. This was a tool which one flipped repeatedly to measure grain. Underneath this measuring tool was a “footprint” that signified walking back and forth, also a repeated motion. Together they signified “to repeat.” In bronze ware style, the measuring tool became more elaborate and a crossroad was added to signify repeated going and coming. In ten style, it became two round shapes. The kanji 復 meant “to repeat; return way; again.” The same oracle bone style and bronze ware style shapes appear in other kanji such as 複 and 腹, all three of which have the same sound /hu’ku/.

徒 “on foot; follower; in vain”

For the kanji 徒, in both samples of bronze ware style the left side was a crossroad, the right side was a mound of soil, and the right bottom was a footprint. Together they meant “going on dirt on foot.” In ten style, the footprint shifted to the left side, but in kanji it went back to the original position. In travelling, an accompanying servant walked while his master was on a vehicle. So it meant someone who followed a master or follower. It was also used to mean “without purpose; in vain.”

The kanji 走 –The kanji 徒 looks like it comprised of a gyoninben and the kanji 走 “to run.” But the origin of the kanji 走 is not closely related, as shown on the right. In bronze ware style the top was a person running energetically with his hand up, and the bottom was a footprint, emphasizing that this writing was about the use of feet. In ten style, a footprint got extended toward the bottom right. It meant “to run.” In kanji, this running person took the shape 土 “soil” and the last stroke of the footprint got extended

There is one more kanji I hoped to include in this post, 御. However I do not have enough reference materials with me at the moment. Maybe I will have a chance to look at 御 in connection with other components in the future. [October 31, 2015]